It’s important to trust your instinct, and let go of the fear of mistakes. Embrace failure, because the only way we get better is to keep iterating.
Carlos Hernandez is the co-founder, US Managing Director, and member of the Board of Directors for iContainers.com, the leading digital API platform that’s fueling the next phase of freight services for businesses and consumers. Carlos leads global operations with a broad portfolio of responsibilities – primarily focusing on driving business growth in the US, strategic international partnerships and taking full responsibility for day-to-day management of operations to transform the delivery and management of cross-country freight services.
Previously, Carlos served as a Private Equity Analyst of Media and Enabling Technologies at the European-based firm, Riva y Garcia from 2005 to 2007. At Riva y Garcia, Carlos was directly involved in Investments from seed capital to expansion from 500k to 4M€ looking for companies with disruptive technology and high growth capacity.
Carlos is also a mentor to Entrepreneurship for MBA students at ESADE University, coaching teams across different MBA and BBA programs within his alma mater.
Carlos earned his MBA from the ESADE Business and Law School in Spain and was awarded for Entrepreneurism in 2006. A native to Spain, Carlos moved to the US in May 2013 and is now based in Miami, Florida.
Where did the idea for iContainers come from?
Before iContainers, my co-founder was leading a company that lost a key client simply because of the inability to provide a timely quote for a pending shipment. We were shocked to realize there wasn’t a solution out there to prevent something like this from happening again, so we built it.
What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?
Once I wake up, I spend my first hour with my kid and check emails from folks overseas. Then I sit down to make a to-do list of everything that needs to be accomplished for the day. I always make sure to show up to meetings on time, and keep them quick to stay productive. It’s important that I unplug after work hours, and make time for family and sports.
How do you bring ideas to life?
Curiosity, observation and adapting to continual change.
What’s one trend that really excites you?
There are numerous opinions about the on-demand economy, but I’m fascinated by the simple philosophy of utilizing technology to make services, and access to experiences easier and quicker.
What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?
The first step to learning how to work more productively is to take a step back and observe yourself and your processes. Take notice of what you’re devoting your time to, and whom you’re spending it with. The next step is to make better choices about that by observing how others are doing it. I find that I learn the most when I travel, from the astonishing people I meet who are constantly innovating and finding new ways to be disruptive.
What was the worst job you ever had and what did you learn from it?
I try not to think of anything as inherently “bad” or “good” – everything has meaning, and a lesson baked in. Although, it’s always a bad day when you have to fire someone. It means that you’ve done a bad job selecting that person, or you haven’t trained the person properly to develop their performance.
If you were to start again, what would you do differently?
Our company was founded in Spain, and faster give me a global mindset and a better understanding of the trends on the stakeholders and a bigger opportunity to expand our global mindset.
As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?
It’s important to trust your instinct, and let go of the fear of mistakes. Embrace failure, because the only way we get better is to keep iterating.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business? Please explain how.
I’m always eager to explore new opportunities and ways of doing things. It’s important to stay adaptable to any change of direction without losing focus on the grand vision.
What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?
Trusting the wrong people has been a burden to success, as well as being cautious when it comes to risk. How I overcome it? Move on. Every single day is a new opportunity to change and move forward with a positive mindset.
What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?
The industries I see having the most opportunity are focused on co-working spaces, last-mile logistics, fintech, and health tech. Some examples I’m seeing today are Kantox, a marketplace for transparent foreign exchange, TheMotion, and Ironhack, an intensive coding “boot camp” for anyone interested in web development.
What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?
I recently booked a flight to Austin, Texas to see its active startup community.
What software and web services do you use? What do you love about them?
Freshdesk, Klipfolio, Inttra, Moz, Infusionsoft, among others. I prefer software that’s easy to use and to plug and play.
What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?
Disciplined Entrepreneurship! by Bill Aulet is a must.
What people have influenced your thinking and might be of interest to others?
Malcom Mclean: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcom_McLean
Martin Varsavsky, Twitter: @martinvars.
Elon Musk, Twitter: @elonmusk
Connect:
iContainers on Facebook:
iContainers on Google+:
iContainers on Twitter: @iContainers_USA
iContainers on LinkedIn:
Mario Schulzke is the Founder of ideamensch, which he started a decade ago to learn from entrepreneurs and give them a platform for their ideas.